Transformation of Context: the Field of Rushes in Old and Middle
Kingdom Mortuary Literature
Hays, H.M.; Bickel S., Mathieu B.
Citation
Hays, H. M. (2004). Transformation of Context: the Field of Rushes in Old and Middle
Kingdom Mortuary Literature. Bibliothèque D'étude, (139), 175-200. Retrieved from
https://hdl.handle.net/1887/16159
Version:
Not Applicable (or Unknown)
License:
Leiden University Non-exclusive license
Downloaded from:
https://hdl.handle.net/1887/16159
Harold M. HAYS
Transformation of Context:
The Field of Rushes in Old and Middle
Kingdom Mortuary Literature
lT
HE TERM sl)"t-iJY,W,2 "Field of Rushes," and its synonymn . .HJY,W,3 "Lake of Rushes", occu r in forty-six texts in the Old Ki ngdom mortuary literature, all certa in4 examples being Pyramid Texts5 from Saqqara pyramids.6 It occurs in forty-three texts in the Middle Kingdom mortuary literature. both in Pyramid Texts and in newly attested Coffin Texts,7 spread across more than a hundred sources distributed throughout sites from UpperI1 am grateful to Edward F. Wente and James P. AlIen
for offering u-:du' ,u\,\g("\lion~ 0" '" urafl ,:.( (hi, ..,,<tY, though responsibility for it remains mine. Source sigla employed below are those of T.G. AL UN, Occur· rences of PyramId TeXIs wllh Cross Indt'U' of These and O[her Egypnan MOTluary TeXIs, SAOC 27. Chicago. 1949. slightly revised by L. LE:'KG. Index of [he Spelts on Egypnan Mlddte Kmgdom CoNns and Reta[ed DocumenlS, Berkeley, 1979. and augmented by H, WILL EMS, CheslS of LIfe,' A SlUdy of [he Typotogy and Conce p[uat
Det'.:lupmen[ of Mlddte KIngdom Swndard Ctass Cof~ns, Leiden. 1988. Notation for a Pyramid Text's position is that employed by ].P. ALLEN, "Reading a Pyramid" m C. BERGER €Iat, (ed,), Homm:I:«','Cl Jean Leclan[, BIElUd 106/1. Cairo, 1994, p. 7, n. 3. together with J,LECLANT, Recherches dans ta pyramlde e[ au [empte haul du pha· raon ?tIJl J", Cl Saqqarah. Schotae AdTlanl De Buck MemoTlae Dlwwe VI, 1979, p, 11 n. 3. Notation for a Coffin Text's position is that employed by H, WILLEMS, op. CII., p.13-15. In ehe following. "PT" refers [0 ehe
Spruch numerical designations and "Pyr." to ehe seccional assignments of K, SETHE, DIe atwegypllsche Pyramidenrexre, vols. [-11, Leipzig, 1908·1910, "CT", when followed immediaeely by Arabic numeral s, refers to ehe Spell nu
m",
ic~l Jc"ign,LIiOI1~01 :\, Dc Et·(l\, The Egy pllan Cof~nTeXIs, 7 vols" Ch icago, 1935-1961, wh ile Roman andAr~hicnumerals plus leeeer refer [0 volumeand page IlUnlb~n plus section.
1Noe deal e with as if d istinc e from 511[·iJr.w is SI1.W[·
L'TW "Fields of Rushes ," as ie occurs ineerchangeably wieh ehe more typical singular form in a group of
variants consIstmg of PT 263-266 (ehe "SchilfbCmdel· sprllche"l, with the plural s!1-wI ae Pyr. 340c (PT 263), Pyr. 343b (PT 264), and Pyr. 352b (PT 265) and the singular 511.[ at IJ:,'r 3;()a (PT 266). One r'.-cu,-\n!!c',.
however, that at !en,( (WO parrs of the Field ~\I Rushes are arrested in the ,Coffin Texts, as R, KRAU~~, A,\llUlIU-m15che Konze pie u nde JensellSvor s[et tu ngen In den
Pyramlden[ex[en, AgAbh 59, W iesbaden, 1997, p 61, n, 203 observes.
3Evidently also considered synonymous by ]. LECLANT, LA I, col. 1156, s.v. "Earu-Gefilde". where in speaking of the inundating of 511.[ L'rw, it is noted how "de fayon plus explicite, on trouve parfois mention du 'lac
m
des Souchets"'. The identity of the ewo eerms may be inferred from eheir ineerchangeabil ity in a group of varianes consiseing of PT 253, 564, and 567:et. Pyr. 215b (PT 253) w'b.n f m 511.[ iJrw and Pyr 1430a (PT 567) w'b.n r' m sl1.[·i~-r.w to Pyr 1421a (PT 564) w'b r' m5L-rw.
4A fragment from Ba 1X, no. 925, 4, may p""ibl y
coneain either CT 1011 or CT 159 (and CT 160). As preserved, ehe sou rce does nO[ now contain the term sl1.[·i~'r.w,bu t both of ehese texts, as aeees eed elsewhere, do. If CT 1011 or CT 159 were involved, ehen one m use reckon wi(h " Col'lln T,",1 h"'lfing the term in
the Old Kingdom. For the fragment, see M, VAI LOGGIA, Ba lal I, le maswba de Medou Nefer, FI FAO 31/1, Cairo, 19~6, p. 76, pI. LXII. A similar situation pertains [0
Berlin Inschr. 7730, 11. 4-5, from a non·royal comb, as ie appears [0 preserve elemenes of PT 474, alehough
noe now ehe eerms!1-.1 iJr.w. The fragmen t's provenance
and Lower Egypt,8 Occurring in so many texts from both the Old and Middle Kingdoms, the term eVidently figured importantly in the religious discourse9 of each period, and thus in thought, since writing is a representation of thought,lO
And yet there is a discontinuity: only eight of the Pyramid Texts bearing the term are attested on Middle Kingdom sources,ll while the remaining thirty-five attestations occur in
is unknown, as it was purchased in 1877 from a private collection (for which information I am indebted ro the kind a,_i,r,,,Kt' and cooperation of Klaus Finneiser and the Sl,."tl,dl"n Museen zu Berlin), and this unknown ..:omplk~l"> an attribution of date to it, hence the question mark fcc: Dynasty 6 of TG. ALLEN,
op.dc, P. 25.
~PT 210, 253-254, 263-266, ,2(",;, 306, 308, 323, 325, 419,437, 442, 461. 470-471, 473-474, 477, 479-480, 482, 493, 504-505, 507, 510, 512, 517, 519, 525-526, 548, 563-564, 567, 572, 606, 6091,10, 616, 655, 670,671. q.'r,w cl PyT. 352b (PT 265) is evidently a mistake for iJT.W; cf. that line's m(l ii s[l.Wl(!)TW to lines from the same stanza found in variants of this text-Pyr 359a (PT 266); i.m(Li S[l.HJTW and PyT. 343b (PT 264): m(Li s[l.Wl L-T.W m mw-as well as a line from a modified version of this stanza in another variant, PyT. 340c (PT 263), mtLl(i) ,[lwliJT,W. Besides thesefortl'~ixcomplete texts, there are a handful of fragments preserving the term, of which some have been kindly brought ro my atten-tion by J.P, ALL EN: P S/Se 92 (for which see now
I.PIEfU,E-C!WISI,o,U,
us
rexles de la pyramide de Npy I", 2, FacsimiUs, M/FAO 118'2 C~ir(), 2001, pI. lIB); N1308+24-26 (for which SIT li. jhQUIER, Le monll-ment
fll-nbaiTe de Pepi 11, C"iro, 1936, wl. I, pL XVIll):
pi
A/s 7-8, 19, and 19 (formule nouvelle 1025, PT 706, and formule nouvelIe 1027, for which SIT now L PIERRE-CWISIAU, op. dc, pL VIIl); and N fr. *W 7-8 (for which see G. ]:!QlIER, op. dl., pi. XV fr. I, L 8).
6 With all Old Kingdom pyramids having texts bearing
the term. except that of Apouit, perhaps owing to the very fragmentary condition of its remains, Some
SOUIU'" which have Pyramid Texts which bear the term have, in the past, been dated to the end of the Old Kingdom, while nowadays they receive Middle Kingdom dates, For example, K, SETHE, Die
Totenlireralll-T der Alien Agyprer, SPAW 18, Leipzig, 1931, p. 527, n. 2 attributes Q1Q(nhJ) to the close of Dynasty 6, while T. G. ALLEN, op. dc, p. 33, datt~it to Dyn~,ry 12, and H, WILLEMS, op. dl, p, 246, n. 23, also to the Middle Kingdom (the latter reference gotten thanks to an unpublished index of H, WiIIems' dates compiled by Se Parker).
7PT 210, 253-254, 263. 268, 306, 308, and 437, and CT 30, 112, 131, 159, 161, 173-174, 179, 184, 193,215-216, 227,243, 260, 279, 288, 296, 335, 397, 398, 400, 404-405,473,622,631, 723, 765, 791, 827. 837, 983,1005, and lOll, Note that modified versions of PT 670, a text containing the term in the Old Kingdom, are
I 76 HarQldM, Hay.
alrc-,ted on six Middle Kingdom sources, but none of these transmits or prt',rrves the term -,[I.l-i"TW, B4C, RIX, and TIC, as prnnl'ed, end PT 670 at PyT. 1977, BlOC and T9C give ,'m-I-. <T> -,[I.t tIT and !m_k T-,[I.t (IT respectively for PyT. J9H4b and do not give PyT. 1985a. T1L gives d.>k T_k T-,[1.1 (liP for PyT. 1984b and dOl" not give PyT. 1985a. For B4C, BlOC, TIC, T9C, and TIC >(~ the Oriental Institute's Coffi,n Texts PrOjLtt notebooks IX, XI, XXXIV, XXXV, and XXXVI respectively; for R1X, see R. ENGELBACH, Riqqeh H"t!
Memphis VI, RSA 25, London, 19[5, pL XXIV. The modifications might be related to this text's Midtlk Kingdom adaptation into ~'~quencescl mortuary Ii,u, gies (Liturgy III and Liturgy 3), for these series, .n: J. ASSMANN, "Egyptian Mortuary Liturgies- in S. lSRAELlT-GROLL (ed.), SIll-die, in EgYPlology presenled l() M. Ljchlheim, Jerusalem, 1990, vol. I, p. 12, 21,22, 38, fig. 8, and p.41, fig. 11. J. Assmann's Liturgy 3 is almost identical in composition and order to
SpTlI-chfolge B of H. ALTENMULLER, Die T,'rl,' "lI-rn
Begriibnisritll-al in den Pyramiden des Alien Reiches, AgAbh 24, Wiesbaden, 1972, p.47.
8 Including A1C, AbylPh, B2Be, Bl-4Bo, B6Bo, B1C, B3-7C, B9C, BlOC, B12-I3C, B15C, B17C, Bl-4L, Bl-2P, B1Y, BH1Br, BH3-5C, OlC, Gl-2T, U-3U, UNY, S, MI-8C, MI3C, Ml9C, M23-25C, M42C, M46C, M54C, M57C, Ml-2NY, Q1Q, R1X, Sl·3C, S5-6C, SIO-12C, Sl6C, S2-3P, 56P, SIX, S8X, SidlSid, Sql-3C, Sq6-7C, Sql-2Sq, Sq5Sq, Sq7-8Sq, Tl-3Be, Tl-2C, T9C, TI3C, Tl-5L, Y1C, pGardiner 11. pGardiner 111. H (X llen), and X3C, ~The term <1,,,,,UI,;, as used here, in the sense of a
body of statements whose form and content are produced by an underlying SEt climplicit conventions and concerns, is derived from M. F01'C,o,ULT, rhe ATchaeology of Kn01l'ledge, New York, 1972, esp. p.36-38, 47-48, 80, 107-108.
10 Or more precisely, according to the traditional view of J.-J. Rou~)<:JU, wlitinll is a representation of speech, which in turll h a representation of thought: compare the chain of relationships between thought, speech, and writing depicted at L MORENZ, Beinage "lI-T
SchTifl/ichkeiBkullll-T im Mitlieren Reich lI-nd in der 2 Zwische>l,<'il, AAT 29. Wit,baden, 1996, p.56, fig. 4. ].-J. Rou"o.:au's distancing of writing from its "prese[\ce," its author, is reduced at J. OERRIO,o" Of Grammalology, corrected edition, Baltimore, 1997, esp. p. 295-316. 11 With six of these occurring only on S, PT 253-254,
F
Coffin Texts. Assuming that most of these thirty-five were in fact drafted after the Old Kingdom,12 the term Field of Rushes was accordingly figuring into the creation of new texts: it was not simply a case of the mechanical transmission of old texts, and thus merely a perpetuation of old ideas and sentiments; it was a participant within a sphere of living discourse. One might even suspect that, even as the array of texts bearing it changed, so also would its meanings shift.
Previous studies concerning the Field of Rushes, most recently by R. Krauss,13 have the common denominators of identifying its cosmographic positionl4 and of determining its
identity with or distinction from the Field of Offerings (stu-/.ttp).15 As a contrastive complement, the present essay is less interested in circumscribing its location or in distinguishing or drawing it toward the Field of Offerings,16 but is more aimed at proposing
simply that its meanings did change and at offering a suggestion as to the mechanism behind the change.
12P. jORGENS, Gnmdlinien einer Oberllrj,',"nb'S",chichte der
altagy})tischen Sargcexle, Wiesbaden, 1995, p. 5-6, gives a
summary ofp cviews concerning the period of compo· sition of the Coffin Texts, and at p.73·84 presents his own sound ones, but it remains to be seen whether the last word has been or can have been said on the matter. Post·1995 statements on the period of production of the Coffin Texts include G. LAPP, Catalogue of Books of Ihe Dead in chI' British Museum l. The Papyrus of Nu (BM EA
(0477), London, 1997, p. 56 (§ 93), according to which Dynastic~ 11 and 12 saw the "continual generation" of new Coffin Texts; and, in diachronic consideration of the number of texts occurring on coffins, id., "Die Entwicklung der Sarge von der 6, bis zur 13. Dynastie" in H. WILL EMS (ed.), The World of the C"0}611 Tens PIn<..uJings of lhe Symposium held on the OCCll'ion of the 100ch Birthday of Adriaan De Buck, Leiden. Or«'rnbel 17·
19, 1992, Leiden, 1996, p.87, gets the impr~""vnthat "gerade am Beginn der Entwicklung besonders viele solcher Spriiche angebracht wurden." The few Coffin Texts spells which may be dated to the Old Kingdom include tlhl\C attested in pyramids (e.g. CT 516-519: see ].P. ALLEN, The Inflection of the Verb in the Pyramid Texts,
Malibu, 1984, p. 697·698), some from the Gardiner Papyri (for references to date-attributions, ranging from the Old Kingdom through the First Intermediate Period and to
doubts against early datings, see H. WILLEMS, o}). cil..
p.246 n. 24), and the fragmentary texts of Bal X, contemporary with Pepi I!.
U R. KRAUSS, o}).cil., esp. p. 37·39 (§ 26) and p. 59·61 (in
§ 32a).
14R. WEILL, Le cham}) desR<lh'utn rl le cham}) des Offrandes dans la religion funeraire el /"'dl~longeneral.e, Paris, 1936,
p,75-80 (in the east or eastern horizon); A. BAYOUMI,
AUlOur du champ des Souchets ec du champ des Offrandes,
Cairo, 1940, p. 15·16 (in the southeast of the sky);
H. FRANKFORT, AncientEgyptian Religion' An Interpretation,
New York, 1961 119481, p. 113 (identical with "Heaven," although a more incorporeal sense may be meant); H. KEES. Totenglauben und Jenseilsvorslellungen der aller Agypcer, 5th ed., Berlin, 198311956], p. 7 3 (east side); W.
BARTA, Die Bedeucung der Pyramidentexte fiir den verstorbenen Konig, MAS 39. Berlin, Munich. 1981,p,flf.·S7 and 95 (the east, and the eastern horizon); lP. ALL EN, "The Cosmology of the Pyramid Texts", in j. P. ALLEN ec aI., Religion and Philoso})hy in Ancient
'rll.
YES 3, New Haven, 1989, p.6, 19, and 23 (lies on sky's rim): H. Willems, The Coffin of Heqata, OLA 70, Leuven, 1996,p. 257 (toward eastern horizon);R. KRAUSS,op. cit., 59-61
(region of sky south of the ecliptic belt).
15R. WEILL, op. cie., p. 89·101 (distinguishing); A. B.\YOUMI, op cit, p. 52·68 (distinguishing); H. FRANKFORT, op cit ..
p.IIO (treating as same); H. ~~ES, TOlenglauben, p.73
with n. 44 (treating as same), and see also 91-92; ]. LECLANT, LA I. col. 1156, s.v. "Earu·Gefilde", (distinguishing); L. LESKO, "The Field of Hetep in the Egyptian Coffin Texts", JARCE 9, 1971 1972, p.IOI (distinguishing before Coffin Texts and merging in Coffin Texts); j. P. ALLEN, o}).cil., p. 6 (distinguishing);
E. HERMSEN, Die zwei Wege des Jens(((,. OBO 112, Leiden,
1991, p. 15,145, and 149 (treating,I',ame); R. KRAl'SS,
o}). cie., p. 59-61 (distinguishing).
16Which is to say that it is not so nll",11 a hermeneutical
endeavor. On the contrast between hermeneutics and structuralism, see G. GENETTE, Figlt1r,
oi
Uterary /)i ....lIIHSe,New York. 1982, p. 11-17. On their synthesis-or rather on attempting transcendence of them in producing diachronic studies,'t'\: M. FOUCAULT,op. cie., esp. p.162.
To signpost this essay's methodological perspective, it adheres to neither a hermeneutical nor a structuralist approach, although it, like Foucault's ideal, tends more along the latter's lines.
The manner in which I intend to illustrate this proposition is through mapping some salient contours of continuity and discontinuity in the context of the term from one
period to the next. Context is what this essay engages, because it is assumed that the
meaning of a term is inseparable from it.17 But naturally, context is ultimately boundless,ltJ whereas I have only a few pages. So I will be pursuing just a few levels: the immediate context of the term (the other words in a statement in which it appears), its intertextual19
context (other texts with similar statements containing the term). its intratextual context (other statements contained in the same text in which it appears), and a still wider, almost paratextual 20 context (the content of other texts which, as transmitted, accompany a text
bearing the term). Those contexts which are most salient-most frequently occurring-are
the ones which will receive the greatest emphasis. In bringing out indications of changes in meanings through identifying changes in context, and through perceiving a dynamic associated with these changes, it is hoped that the specifics will shed a bit of light on more general aspects of the relationship between Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts.
In the Old Kingdom, the term Field of Rushes occurs in a variety of immediate contexts: 21 it is incorporated in the themes22 of purification in the Field of Rushes, the filling of the
same, being given it, travelling to it, and being placed in it. 23 Of these, the most commonly recurring is the first mentioned, purification (w'b),24 appearing in thirteen Pyramid Texts,2S as for example in PT 479: 26
17As is held for statements. as by. for l'xample. R. RORTY, "Philosophy without Principles" in W.J.T MITCHELL (ed.),
Against Th"'ny, Ch icago, 1985. p. U3·U4; C. FALCK. Myth, Truth, and Literature Towards a True Post-Modernism, 2nd
ed., Oxford, 1994, p. 48: J CULLER, Literary Theory A
Very Short Introdllction, Oxford, 1997, p.67. Note also that some, for example, even J. Culler sometimes choose the term frame orlraming in,read ofcontext, id., Framing the Sign Criticism and Its InstitlHions, Oxford, 1988, p. IX.
18Id., Literary Theory A Very Short Inr.uduction, Oxford,
1997, p.67.
19On intertextual ity, see especially R. BARTHES, "Theory of the Text", in R. YOllNG (ed.), Untying the Text A Post-Structuralist Neader. London, 1981, p.39, id., Image-Music-Text, London, 1977, p. 146: id., S/Z, New York,
1974, p. 12. Compare the discussion of a "network of references" at M. FOUCAlILT.01'.cit., p. 23, and the
des-cription of the "scriptural enterprise" at M. DE CERfEAU,
The Practice of Everyday Life, Berkeley, 1988, p. US
20 Paratextual referring to a feature external to a text which cond itions the text's iden tity. but more speciflcally to features still intrin,kally related to a text, such as titles. colophons, and even reviews of a work. On "indices paratextuels," ~Cl' D. COMBE. Les genres /irreraires, Paris, 1992. p. 10 and 152.
21 Compare the categorization presented here with that of M. E. THOMAS. An Ind..x of Pyramid Text Cosmology,
M.A. Thesis, University of Chicago, 1948, p.31-32. 22 Or copos or motif. If deflnition is neC"t:' .;;ry, theme as
178 Harold M. Hay,
used here uccurs in the sense of "recurring, concretely manifest combination(s) of terms."
23Texts containing all but the last mentioned theme are iden tifled ·below. The 1:"1 ,KCUrs in PT 437 (Pyr.
805a-b): d'f!w m n!T-dw~' hr-;b s~.t-i;r.w hms.ti hr "ll1du"k
"him (se. Re) placing you as the Morning God in the midst of the Field of Rushes, you seated upon your throne" and in a variant of this text PT 610 (Pyr 1719f).
Compare PT 606 (1690a-b). wdn ILV njr.w; ipw WT.w(i)
'~'.w(l) hnt(l)w(i) sb.t-;;r.w "11'nS.t/:I'll'."Lettht:~t-two great and magn ificent gods who are before- the Field of Rushes set (i.e. install) you upon the throlle' of Horus:'
24Translating the term in the sense given it byJ LECLANT. LA Ill, col. 1156, .I.V. "Earu-Gefilde", and B. AUENMliLLER-KESTING. Neinigung.lriten im iigyl)ti.lchen Kult. Hamburg.
1968, p.78. in connection with PT 510. Note that the latter holds that the connection of the "Reinigungsbad in den Bimengetilden" of PT 510 with the ritual purifi-cation (w'h) with nms.c-jars in the same text is "wohl
erst sekundar." Whether primary or secondary, the two themn an: indct'd a,,;uciated in th is text.
25 Beside, the text, cited in the following discussion and in its a,'llt'iated notes, PT 470 and SII a[,u have the theme of puriflcation in the Field "I Rl"hes-PT 470
(Pyr. 918a): w'h.N. 111 sh.t-i~'r.w. "Nder),;;l[c is pure in the Field of Rushes", PT 512(Pyr. 1I64d): sw'h.w'k hr-Cl) IJb.t'k 111 s)u-;Jr.w, "you purified upon your flower
in the Field of Rushes"
The doors of the sky are opened;
the doors of the firmament27 spread to Horus of the Gods, that he may ascend at dawn,
having become pure in the Field of Rushes.28 Another example in PT 567:29
Re has become pure in the Field of Rushes: Horus has become pure in the Field of Rushes: Pepi has become pure in the Field of Rushes.3o And, as a last example, in PT 525: ,)
May you descend into the Kenzet Canal, and become pure in the Field of Rushes, the following of Horus purifying you,
them performing for you the Utterance of Ascent, them performing for you the Utterance of Passage.>2
All contexts condition meaning, but repetition reinforces it:33 It controls an audience's evaluation of the details of both the text as suchH as well as the larger fabric of literature to which the text belongs.35 With it so frequently recurring, one may reckon purification
in the Field of Rushes as one of the central contexts conditioning the term's meanings in the Old Kingdom.
This simple conclusion and the statistic from which it is inferred will achieve greater significance later on, when the contrastive circumstances of the Middle Kingdom are
27Or "Frt',h Water." by J.P. ALLEN. oJ.! cit., p.8. On the term. see also S.A.B. MERCER,The Pyramid Texts in Trans-lation and Commentary. vol IV. New York. 1952. p.53-54. 28 Pyr 981 a-b: wn '~.wi p.t Lzn '~wi qbh n lir nfrw pr<fm ,p(i) hrw w'b.n<fm stu-I;,w.
29Related to PT 567 as variants are PT 253 and 564_ Similar to thol' lhree are two further texts, with these being variant ui one another-PT 323 and 526. JOPyr 1430a-c: w'b.n r' m sO.(·i;, w w'b_n !n m so_,-Ilrw w'b.n P pn m sO_t-l;r_w_ 11 Related as variant to PT 525 is PT 471. J2 Pyr 1245a-e: h;<k m mr knz_t(i) w'b<k m sO.t-/;r.w w'b !w sms-Itr ir<Sl1 n<k r; n(i) prLw ir<sn n<k r~ nO) OPLw.
JJOr, according to R. BARTHES, op Cil, p.93. "the exchange value of a seme. its ability to participate in
a thematic economy, depends on its repetition". Or, according to M. FISHBANE, Biblical Text and Texture
A Literary Reading of Se/ull'cI Tl'~('.Oxrl,rd, 1979, p. XII, the repetition of "theme,wo,th- ,ef\'(', "to highl ight major and minor features of content. A reader may thus be guided or provoked towards certain interpretations on the basis of theme-words recurrent in one or several texts which are thereby brought into assud.ll ion," with what applies to theme-words held
1<) he 'equally pertinent with respITt to larger themes
lH Illulii{' For B. MATHIEU, La poesie amoureuse de I'Egypre ancienne. Recherches sur un genre l'II,;raire au Nouvel Empire. BiErud 115, 1996, P 176-177, the repetition of leitmotifs and cliches in love poetry ser-ves as confirmation of their importance
34Compare W.e. BOOTH, The Rhetoric of Fiction, 2nd ed.,
Chicago, 1983, p.272.
35 Because the audience (and composer) of any given text will bring to it every other text so far encountered, especially those of the same corpus. On this notion, a ramification of interle:\lu,llity, see for example P.]. GRIFFITHS, Religious Reading the Pl'lCe of Reading
in rhe Practice of ReligioJI. O_xrord, 1999, p.53 (who
mistates "intratextuality" where "intertextu: I:ry" should have been used instead.
examined. But the frequent occurrence of the theme of purification is also indicative of its participation in the religious discourse which prod uced the Pyram id Texts, because the recurrence of a given theme in multiple texts 36 signals engagement with an idea.
Such concern is abstractly evident in the statistic which was invoked a moment ago. But a related detail is in another circumstance: the texts bearing this theme generally come from groups of variants-texts with more points of contact with each other than differences. Indeed, each of the three citations just now presented come from mem bers of three different groups of variant texts. To summarize the points of contact of the group from which the first citation comes, a group consisting of PT 325, 479, and 563,37 they all begin with a stanza involving the opening of the doors of the sky in its forms of p.t and qbh. an ascent
(pril,
and purification in the Field of Rushes (w(b m s!.U-L'rw). This stanza is repeated 38 fivetimes, each time substituting four gods and the deceased as principal figure. 39 Two of the three texts add a further stanza, also repeated with substitution, but involving only ascent and purification in the Field of Rushes. 4o The order of subsequent elements in the members
of this group varies somewhat: two invoke Re ;41 and two speak of
pp
(perhaps meaning«pressure"42) in the womb of Nut, the beneficiary being the seed of the god within it. 43 Purity is mentioned again in two of the three texts, now in conjunction with the receipt of a kilt (sw!t).44 All three close with invocations of obscure gods-hp.Jt 45 and ip.Jti,46 hnni,4!
and zmnnw48-and with commands to these gods that they take the beneficiary away (iti).49
Finally, two append the demand that the beneficiary stay (zmn50) with him.51
The continuities are many, but there are also anum ber of passages which are unique to each of them. One sees substantial discontinuity even in the summary just now given: it is often the case that only two of the texts share an attribute, but it is not always the same two.52 These kinds of linkages join the texts together as if in a circular chain-a simile
36A phenomenon wide,pread in Egyptian religious literature. For the Pyramid Texts. see the index of parallel passages compiled by W. BARTA, op.cir .. p.151-160
J7 R.O. FAULKNER. The Ancient Egy/Jtian Pyramid Texts. Ox-ford, 1969. p. 105. n. I under "Utterance 325." remarks that other versions of PT 325 are PT 479 and 563. Related to these as possessing a section common to them. but in a text otherwi'c markedly different. is PT 510.
38Repetition of a section being a structural scheme termed "Pradikationslitanei" by O. FIRCHOW. Uncersu-chungen ~ur agypcischen Srilistik 11 Grund~iige der Stilistik in den a/cagyptischen Pyramidenrexten. Berlin.
1953, p.202·]()(,
39PT 325 (Pyr. S2'J529c); PT 479 (Pyr 98Ia·985b); PT 563 (Py,- 1408a-141Id). The repeated stanzas are described as a poem by J.P. ALLEN, The Inflection of che Verb in the Pyramid Texts. Malibu. 1984. p.15 (§ 23).
40PT 479 (Pyr. 986b·989b); PT 563 (Pyr. 1412a-1415b). 41 PT 325 (Pyr 532a); PT 479 (Pyr 990a).
180 HaroldM.Hays
42For the word !JP.',', K. F\II"NER. The Ancien' Egy!Jtian Pyramid Tor,. ,-hl"rd, I<)(>(). p. 105. 219,
45PT 325 (Pyr 532a); and PT 563 (Pyr. 1416c·1417a). PT 479 (Pyr, 990a) offers terms to this effect. but with substantial difference in choice of words.
44PT 325 (Pyr 533b); PT 563 (Pyr 1416a).
45PT 325 (Pyr 533a and 533d); PT 563 (Pyr 1418a and 1420a).
46 PT 479 (Pyr 99Ic), perhaps an antisthecon of h/J)!.
47 PT 325 (Pyr 533a and 533d); PT 479 (Pyr 991c): PT 563 (Pyr. 1418a and 1420a).
48 PT 325 (Pyr 533d).
49 PT 325 (Pyr 533c); PT 479 (Pyr 991d); PT 563 (Pyr 1420b).
I,·Wb Ill. 453,2 "jemanden weilen lassen unter Personen (ill))" and Wb Ill. 453. 3 "sich verweilen (mit refiexiven Pronomen) )"
51 PT 325 (Pyr. 533c); PT 563 (Pyr 1420b).
-which quickly dissolves, because there are yet attributes common to them all. Nevertheless, the circular linkages make it impossible to identify anyone of these variants as the origin of the other two.
What these texts exhibit are a series of intertextua(53 linkages, showing not a failure to faithfully copy an original and authentic version of a text, but rather an interlocking complex of related themes-related since they sometimes or always occur together, but a complex whose relations are fluid, since sometimes they do not. This fluidity, rather than fixed permanence, is something which I take as an indication that the discourse which generated the Pyramid Texts was alive,54 with texts combining and recombining themes occurring in others, as if in a bricolage:55 The intertextual connections exhibit the familiarity of their authors with other members of the body, and yet a freedom to produce new texts, to thus memorialize innovation. The repetition in a new text of an element from another, far from indicating mechanical reiteration, shows how the pre-existent could be subverted in order to generate the new.56
The theme of purification in the Field of Rushes occurs in thirteen Pyramid Texts, and all except for two are associated with a variant group.s7 Not only was this theme impor-tant, as may be concluded from its raw frequency of occurrence, but its prominence was not due to a mechanical reproduction of traditional formulae: it was a participant in a living discourse.
One may widen the context of this theme and the term Field of Rushes still further in view of an observation of
J.
Leclant, that the Field of Rushes, in contrast to the Field of Offerings, is a place of passage as opposed to a place of rest, and that the Field of Rushes is specifically the place where the beneficiary is purified prior to his ascent to the sky.58 That this is so may be seen from PT 479, cited earl ier, where the doors of the sky are opened for the gods and the beneficiary "that he may ascend s9 at dawn, having become pure in thenoun-substitution stanzas with PT 563, but not with PT 325: and still further PT 325 overlaps with PT 563 in adding a demand that the god stay with the beneficiary, but this is a theme which PT 479 lacks.
53For the term incerrexrual, see nn. 19 and 35 above.
54This conclusion sets aside the problematics 01the exact dates of composition of the tex ts so far mentioned.
55Bricoluge here indicating the construction of a text
through the reuse of pre-existing elements. Compare the usage of bricolage at Cl. LEVI-STRAI'S~,The Savage
Mind. Chicago, 1966. p.16-33, and see also the characterization of the construction of a myth through the combination 01 "gros, cunslituelH unit, pre,cnt in mythic discourse (or rather. myth as a kind of language). at id .. "The Structural Study of Myth". in
Cl UVI-STRAUSS. Structural Anchropology. New York,
1963. p.209-211.
Sf>Compare B. MATHIEU. op. cit., p. 179. on the usage of
ropoi (fiwu combinations 01 several motifs): "'~ subver-tir le donne pour produire du nouveau: plus la matiere premiere est contraignante. plus elle est susceptible de provoquer I'imagination"
57 Besides the group consisting of PT 325. 479, and 563, there are rhe gruup uf PT 323 and 526 (R.O. FAUlKNER.
op. cit., p. 19t1.-d vdfianr of Uttetance 323"). the group of PT 253, 564 (ibid., p. 220, "a variant of Utterance
253"), and 567 (ibid., p. 221, "a variant of Ctterance
564"). and the group of PT 471 and 525 (since Pyr
920a-922c, the bulk of PT 471, is virtually identical to
Pyr 124-h'·12·16a. the bulk of PT 525). The two texts which contain this theme but which do not belong to a variant group are PT 470 and 512.
58J. LECLANT, LA I, col. 1156, s.v. "Earu-Gefilde"
59The sense of pri as "ascend" was first observed by j.H. BREASTED. Develo/Jment of Religion and Thought in Ancient Egypr, New York, 1959 [19121, p.276, n. I.
Field of Rushes".60 This notion is repeated several times in this text and is one of the points of contact it has with its variants. PT 325 and 56361
The wider contexts of two other prominent themes containing the term Field of Rushes are also typically connected with passage to the sky, or. as is sometimes expressed. the horizon (..:Luj62 First, it is connected with the theme of the inundation of the Field of Rushes. 6.3 itself attested in seven Pyramid Texts.64 as for example in PT 264:
Opened is the Nurse Canal;
60 Pyr 985b. pr>fm I/J(I) Inw. w'b>f m sll.t·l;r.IV.
1>, Though thes" l'mploy the past passive circumstantial s<;!m>f, e.g. \t"b./ at Pyr 525c (PT 325) and Pyr. 1408b (PT 563). Interpretation of the form as a past p~"ive circumstantial Selm>f is implicit in the translation of
the latter example. Pyr 1408b. at j.P ALLEN, The
Inflection 0/Ihe Verb in the Pyramid Texts, Malibu. 1984. p. 15 (9 23). PT 510 incorporates a modified ,,:ction of the poetic introduction of this variant group. with repeated stanzas of the following structure (Pyr 1134a-1135 b)
wn.1i ':.wi I).t
I~n.ii ';wi qbh.w 11 hr dw:t(i) ir t/J{i} hrw h;IH
\.("b.i>fm SIlI-iJr.w
The doors of the sky are open;
the doors of the firmament spread open for the Netherworld Horus at dawn,
that he may go down.
having ht'come pure in the Field of Rushes. The most ,iJ.:nificant modification is in the substitu· tion of hJi for pri. a substitution which superficially seems to show a reversal of meaning. as this pair of words o,-,urs in llpp,',ite senses. e.g. at Pyr 82\ b-c: prr>k 1\11' s:1l m-' i:b.ri n(l) pt. h::'k 1:'11' 5:1\ m' imn.ti nU) /J.I. "just as you ascend with Orion from the east of the sky. so do you d"sl'l'llu with Orion from the west of the sky." But the sil-:nificance of h:i extends beyond desl'ent into th(' We~l, to inl'iude also the boarding01 a \·o.:~sel, as at Pyr. 1246a-d:
h;,k r·k m «:1-' pw nU) r( !:1Iln.w nlr.w .~H!i
Lh">sl1 m Ilsf>k mr I,'I'SIl m bsf.w r' IJr>! m iJb
May you go down to (i.e. board) this bark of Re which the gods rowI
Rise upI
They rejoice at meeting you
precisely a, rhey rejoice at meeing Re when he a~('el1d~in the East.
Understanding h)1 in PT 510 in this manner is
supported by Pyr 1135b's maintenance of ir tpU} hrw. indicating that the temporal position of the p~"~ge
is dawn. and thus its spatial position the East.
I
~'-~B2!Harold M. Hays
\
Following the sun's cycle, the Netherworld Horus is to ascend
1>2Note that, as argued byJ P. ALLEN. "The Cosmology of the Pyramid Texts". in j.P. ALLEN el al .. Religion anu Phil".<lJ/Jhy in Ancient EgYIJI, YES 3, New Haven. 1989. p. lR·19. the ;!:u is situated in the sky. On passage to the ~kyin the Pyramid Texts in general. see j. ASSMANN. LA 11. col. 1206-1211. s.v. "Himmelsaufstieg"
I>JA theme which may be metaphorically linked to ritual purilication, as inundation certainly is in PT 455 (Pyr 848a-849b):
rnh mr.w ;;h.w i[r.w
m r>f 'bw pr m wsir
sm iri·p't 10 wr '/1 10 wr Iwnw ps<;!.e wre I\ms
m;>!n w'b pn n(l) ie wsir P pn. Filled are the canals.
inundated are the waterways.
with the purity which went forth from Osiris.
o
sem-print>. princes, great ten of the palace. great ten of Heliopl~1is. 0 Grea t En nead,be sea ted
and witn"" rh is purification of the father, of Osiris, of PepiI
On a chain01 associations involving inundation. Osi· ris. and revivifying libation. 'cc B. ALTENMULLER· KESTING. ReinigHng5riten im agYIJtischen KHIt. Hamburg, 1968. p. 38: "Dem Osiris als Vegetationsgott entstrbmt der Nil. d en er zugle ich a Is Erfrisch u ng in Fo rm einer Libation fur seine Wiederbclebung empfangen soil"
PT 455 goes on to extensively elaborate on the
process of pu rifica tion with sta temen ts phraseo-logicall\' a"llciated with PT 34, the rite of purification
with Upper Egyptian natron (on which see ibiu ..
p.47·57)
64Consistill\( of a group of variants (PT 263-266) and texts incl1rporating a section found in this group (PT
507, 519, and 609. and probably N 1308+24-26 IG
jEQUIER, Le monwnent fHneraire ue Pel); 11, Cairo, 1936. vol. I. pi. XVIIII as well as ibid., pI. XV fr. I. I. 8).
Compare also PT 473 and 504, each containing
inundated is the Shifting Waterway;65 filled are the Fields of Rushes with waterI
Let Teti really be ferried thereon to that eastern side of the sky, to the place where the gods will bear him. 66
And, second, it is connected with the theme of being given the Field of Rushes, also appearing in seven Pyramid Texts,67 as in PT 482:
May you ascend to the sky, becoming as Wepwawet,
your son Horus guiding you through the ways of the sky. The sky has been given to you:
the earth has been given to you:
the Field of Rushes has been given to you,
even with these two great gods who come forth from Heliopolis68
In sum, a wider, intratextual context of the term is passage to the sky, found in association with purification in the Field of Rushes, inundation of it, and being given it.
Examining a still wider context of the term as it occurs in the Old Kingdom adds further support to
J.
Leclant's observation. Figure I, below, comparatively presents the series of texts in the order in which they appear on the antechamber, west wall, of the pyramids of Pepi 1.Merenre, and Pepi 11. Bold indicates texts which bear the term Field of Rushes.
One notices that these three series are closely related in composition and structure. To be sure, this is not a strictly fixed sequence of texts, such as those sought after in the seminal
6\ For detailed summary of interpretations of this term (read here as nb;i but elsewhere sometimes as mr-n(iJ-b;). see R. KRAUSS, Astronomische Konzelile unde JenseilslIOTslellungen in den Pyramidenlexten, AgAbh 59,
Wie,haden. 1997, p.14-17 (§ 15). who, for his part, matches references to rm-nbJi to celestial phenomena
associated with the ecl iptic at ibid., 49.t3 (§ 3J).
66Pyr. 343a-344b;
wb; mr-mn' iJbl mr-nb;(/) m(d Sb.Wl-I;r.w m mw
g;.t(i) g;.Wl T Im ir gs pf I;bti n(IJ p.t
ir bw msi sw n!r.w Im.
6?In two variant groups, one consisting of PT 482 and 670, the other consisting of PT 306, 474, 480, and 572, as well as a text containing a section found in members of the second group, PT 477. PT 306 and 480 may be translated as having the theme of being given the Field of Rushes through comparison to the phraseology of PT 572 (Pyr. 1475a-1476a);
dmg.n tm sp;.t n P pn gi.wf niww(t! [gb! n PIm
mdw br~s
L'.Wl i~'.Wl hr I~'.wt SlS slu-i;r.w
P liW r;l:ts bnl(iJ L'sm'
Atum has gathered the nomes for Pepi he has given the cities lof Gebl to Pepi (Geb). who 'poke concerning
it-the mounds, it-the mounds of Horus, it-the mounds of Seth, and the Field of Rushes.
Pepi is lahes, foremost of the land of the south, The A /M B construction at the end of the passage shows the beginning of a new statement, I;.wt L'.wt hr L'.wt SlS Sb.l-L'rw must belong with the preceding.
PT 306 {Pyr. 479b-480cl and PT 480 (Pyr. 991a·994al
may be understood in light of this. 68Pyr. 1009c-1010c; pr<k r~k Ir. p.l b /n<k m W/i-W;.Wt ssm (W ;:;·k (\1 mW;.Wl Id gl wk p.t di n<k L' gi wk Sb.l-i;r.w
l\n' n!Twl IIM '~'.w(i) /nr.w m iwnw.
work of H. Altenmtiller,7° but rather a group of texts whose composition and order are more flexible-a conclusion drawn by H. Willems71 from the work of P. ]tirgens 71 can be extended for the texts of these series: though one has here a number of texts transmitted together, the components of a series are
always subject to modification and innovation. But more
importantly for the present discussion, the fact that texts are transmitted together suggests that they have a relationship to one another, its members presumably belonging to a larger compositional unit or to an anthology.
That they do is likewise evident from the fact that many of the texts bear the term Field of Rushes, those indicated in bold. For example, fully half of the texts in Pepi 1's sequence bear it. This is an important statistic, because only about thirtyn texts in the whole pyramid have the term. The latter is no small figure, but it still represents only about ten percent of the total number of preserved texts in the pyramid, three hundred and some. One tenth of all the texts in the whole tomb bear it, but half in this
sequence have it: what one is dealing with here is a
concentration of texts with the term.
p 26569 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 270 478 479 480 481 407 M 473 474 475 476 310 487 472 468 467 483 477 270 478 479 481 N 473 474 475 476 477 270 472 478 479 480 470 481 I
69 On ,Iowt-{di.;i>;rw of PT 265 (Pyr 352b), ,ee above n. 5.
70 H. ALHNMULUR, Die Texte zum Begrabninirual in den Pyramiden des Alren
Reiches, AgAbh 24, Wie,baden, 1972, p.40-51.
71 H, WllUMS, "Preface" in H. Will em, (ed.), The World of rhe Coffin Texts (f>
De Buck), Leiden, 1996, p. VI, with n. 2. He connect, the disper,ed character of transmis,ion dealt with by P, ]urgens (,ee followin~ note) to ca,e, of "offene (Iberlierferung" in Egyptian literature prn<:n.ted by].E QUACK, Die
Lehren des Ani: Ein neud;:)'ptischer Wei.lheitstext in seinem kulture1!en Umfeld, OBO 141, Leiden, 199,1 p. 18 23. With the latter, the question center, around identifying in ,nular text, the dynamic, behind variations which cannot be explained through the invocation of ,cribal error, an identification which is to have oral v,. written transmis,ion a, it, tension. A n'>olution of this tension is propo,ed by ].F. Quack through a ,ynthe,is of r.h,·,h and antithe,is-a written imitation of oral compo,itional techni-que, (a different approach to the ,ame ten,ion appear, at J. AS5MANN, ReUgion und kulrureUe Gedachtni>: Zehn Srudien, Munich, 2000, p. JJ2 U4). 71 See P.JURGIN5, "Textkritik der Sargtexte, CTSpruche 1-27", in H. Willem, (ed.), The World 01 Ihe enffin Texts, Proceeding, of the Symposium hdd on the Oce',nion of the l00th Birthday of Adriaan De Buck. Leiden, D~c~mberJ7·J9,
19')1. Leiden, 1'?:J6, esp. p. 5761, the identification of (overlapping) group, of I.. H, transmitted together, and p.70, stating that there can be no cerl>lin reconstruction of the tran,mi, .. ion history of CT J-27.
n Th~,c being PT 265, 266, 323, 325, 437, 442, 461, 470, 471, 473, 474, 477. 479, 480,482,493,504,505,507,510,512,517,519,525,526, 548, 563, 564,567, and 572, beside, fragment, cited at n. 5 above.
184,Ha,oldM, Hays 271 471 461 482 483 310 Fill. l.
Number, indicate Pyramid Text Utterance number (PT).
Text, are arranged here from top to bottom in the order they occur. Bold indicate, a text bearing the term sl).t i"'r,w,
In this, the series of Figure I are representative of a more general phenomenon: texts bearing the term Field of Rushes tend to cluster together,74 the highest concentrations being in the antechamber, corridor, and vestibule.75 The most striking series occurs on the corridor, west wall of Merenre, with a series of nine contiguous texts of which only one does not contain the term.76
The significance of such concentrations, and of the transmission of texts together, is in underscoring the importance of taking into account the content of other texts surrounding any given text. Groups of texts really are just that-larger compositions or anthologies. As a consequence, the identity of a text is conditioned by its environment of transmission, through conditioning an audience's expectations of it.
Taking a step toward this through considering some of the content of the texts of Figure \, one finds a way back to Leclant's observation: nearl y77 all of them make expl icit reference to a passage of some kind, above all to the horizon or the sky. For example, PT 265, heading the sequence in Pepi I:
Opened is the Nurse (Canal);
inundated is the Shifting Waterway; filled are the Fields of Rushes,
that Pepi may really cross to the eastern side of the sky, to this place where the gods are born.
This Pepi [has been] born there, even with him being born with them, like Horus, like Akhti!78
74Another sequence of flexible order and composition containing texts bearing the term (with texts bearing the term marked in bold) is P C/Es PT 323, 503, 504, 505, 506, 507: also M C/Ws PT 606, 504, 506, 505, 563, 323. Another is M C/Ws PT 525, 507, 526, 527-531, 523, 521: also N C/Wm PT 563. 525. 507, 527-531, 526, 523, 521: and P C/Wm PT 521-524,525.526. 527-531, 532, 266. Another is M C/ Wn PT 609, 558-560, 515, 516, 517, 518. 519, 510: also N C/Es-m PT 609, 558. 559, 560, 503. 322, 515, 516,517. 518,519: and P ("Wm PT 515, 516, 517, 518, 519. Other cases of texts bearing the term occurring in close proximity are W A/W PT 253,254: W A/S PT 263, 267: 268: W A/N PT 306, 307: 308: T S/W PT 323, 324: 325.
75Of the fully ('xtilllt l'yr:lllliJ T~xts bearing the term, 35 u(:cur regularly in the antechamber, corridor, and vestihuk. To Iist the exceptions. si nee co nsidera bly fewl'r: text, which occur sometimes in the sarcophagous chamber and sometimes outside it are PT 268, 323. 325, and 461. Texts which occur regularly in the sarcophagous chamber are only PT 210, 437, and 442. Texts which are attested only once in the
Old Kingdom, with that attestation being the sarcophagous chamber, arc PT 655, 670. and 671 PT 264 is attested but once. and then in a passage. The preceding statements do not reflect positional infor-mation from the sarcophagous chambers of the queen's pyramids or the pyramid of Ibi, since their plans differ from the oth e rs.
7"With the series PT 606. 504. 506, 505, 563. 323. 525, 507 and 526: PT 506 dues Ilot hear rhe (l'f11l s(l.l-i;r.w. Thl"l' texts come from M.'s juxtaposition of two series given above in n. 74.
77 Those not making explicit reference are PT 468, 476, 477. 479. and 487
78 Pyr 352a-353c: wb;mn'ii I;~ m )-n~;(i) mh.ii S(l.wt-{4J<I>_')w
4; P4;WI iTgs i;br(i) n(i) p.r
IT btu pw m55.W n!r.w im ms[.n.rJl P im
msw.t(i)<! hn'<5I1 hT Is "'~l(l) 15.
On sl1.wr-{4J<i>;r.w of PT 265 (PYT 352b), see above. n. 5.
To proceed to the next, PT 470;
You aM:cnd to the sky even as (do) falcons, your plumage that of birds,
-says she (se. the red crown 79) to Neferkare. 8o
And then to PT 471 (a variant of PT 525, cited above); Pepi has come,
only that he, Pepi, may become pure in the Field of Rushes, only that Pepi may go down to the Field of Kenzet,
the Followers of Horus purifying Pepi, bathing Pepi,
drying Pepi.
performing the Utterance of GUidance 8J for Pepi,
performing the Utterance of Ascent for Pepi, for life and dominion, that Pepi might ascend to the sky, for life and dominion,
[that] Pepi [might go down,] for [life and dominion,] to this bark of Re,81
One could go on to list other cases of texts in this figure bearing reference to passage to the horizon8J or the sky,84 and add to them references to a ferryman,85 to ascent via ladder,86 ascent
I~More specifically, Im5.1 d~u nb.1 idb.w dpw (?yr. 911a),
80Pp. 913a-b:
pn_k ir. p.t m bik.w ~w.wt_km "'pd.w U(i) ir N.
84 Compare E Enu, AWigypli5che Grammaeik, Rome, 1955-1964, §159, 'TlItigkeit des Geleitens: The interpretation of mJ'.w is accepted here, although tentatively, since the word does not bear a determinative. The pH'wnt interpretation of L" however, follows R.O. FAUlKNIR,
The Ancienl Egyptian Pyramid Text5, Oxford, 1969, p.160. 82 PF. 910lY911b: ion P w'b-f P m 5(u-Lr.w hJii P pn ir 5(U knZ.1 w'b ~m5-i:lT P pn 5w'b-,n P. pn ~w_5n P pn ir_5n n P pn rJ nlJ) mfw ir_5n n P pn L' nli) pr.w n 'ntt \-l'~., pr P pn iT p.1 n 'nJ:tW,'5
[h.;] P pn n I'nJ:t \-1':(1 m wiJ pw nil) r'.
8' As in PT 473 (e.g. Pyr. 917a) 5h.; n M zJ:tn.wi p.1 in m'nd.t pr M, J:tr-5n ttr r' r "'tt.t -Let the two reed floats ct the sky be brought down 10 Merenre by the day-bark, so that Merenre might ~scendupon them 10 Re,
10 the horizon," Another instance occurs at PT 481.
186 Harolcl M,Hay.
M As in PT 483 (Pyr. 1016a) bbk it p.1 hr J:tndw-k bL' -May )'Ju remove yourself (lit. be away, far) 10 the sky upon your metal throne: Other instances ct p~ssage
10 the sky occur in this sequence in PT 480 and 481.
8}Who is 10 take the beneficiary 10 a place other than the Field of Rushes, as in PT 471 (Pyr. 915c-d) m>!:<:-f
L' nlr.w in nw n P pn, di P pn m g5 pi n 'nJ:tW"'5 '0 Mahaf, bull of the gods, bring this (se. the ferryboat)
10 Pepi; set Pepi on that side for life and dominion!"; in this sequence other references ct this kind occur in PT 170, 310, 475, and 481. On PT170's containing the theme of passage (Uberfahrt), see H. ROHlFR, -Themen und Motive in den Pyramidentexten",UngAeg 3, GMtingen, 1993, p.86-87. Compare a ferryman specificaIly a"iglwu lht task of taking the beneficiary
10 the Field of Rushes, as at Pp. 1091a (PT 505); /:Lr-f J:t>f~' p. r5J:t.t-Lr.w-0 Herethaf, ferry Pepi 10the Field of Rushes."
ps
as a bird,87 and being conveyed in the bark of Re at the horizon8s And as for the nine texts bearing the term Field of Rushes, all but oneW) of them have the theme of passage to the sky.
To summarize what has been discussed so far, in the Old Kingdom the dominant immediate context of the term Field of Rushes is purification, a theme participating in a vital discourse. Purification in the Field of Rushes as well as two other themes bearing the term are further associated with passage to the sky. All of these contexts will have served to condition the term's meanings in the Old Kingdom, and prominently, since well over half of the texts concerned are associated with these things.
These circumstances are in stark contrast to those of the Middle Kingdom. But before moving on to consider them, it will be useful to make a seeming digression which will, however, turn out to be a point of reference between the two periods.
The discussion just now culminated in highlighting a broader context of the term Field of Rushes, passage to the sky, making it in such contexts a site of transit, specifically a place of purification prior to departure. As appropriate as this identification might have
been, it by no means epitomizes the whole of the term's context. In fact, in the Old
Kingdom there are texts which situate the term not as a point of departure, but rather as a destination. Certainly they are fewer; there are only seven Pyramid Texts making statements like this. One of them is found in Pepi ['s series shown in the figure above, PT 461 :
The doors of the sky are opened to you; the doors of the firmament spread to you,
that you may seize the oar to the Field of Rushes. Plant barley;
reap (lit. sickle) emmer;
grow your plants there like Horus son of Atum.9o
see H. ROHJER, op. ci/., p.90-93. For citations of Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts bearing the term, and for an ol""'rvation that the theme (Motiv) of ascent via ladder occurs comparatively infrequently in the latter, sce j. ASSMANN, "Spruch' 62 der Sargtexte und die iigY[)lbchen Totenliturgien", in H. Willems (ed.),
op. cil., p.28, n. 44.
87As in PT 467 (Pyr 891 b·c): (i)gIJ.n P pn ir p.t m '~'w,
.In P pn p.t m bik. "Pepi has risen to the sky even as a heron, Pepi kissing the sky as a falcon." On igp as an
imd~e of ascent. see \Vb l. 14,1-2, and J. ASSMANN, LA 11, col. 1207, with n. 10.
BBAs in PT 407 (Pyr 710a-711dl s~I' f wf st<{ w'b.t imil
1).1...; ~<P 11-/ T .I1-/lc'ht imit h;.t wi; r', in hm irw-i<
[lnni.w r', ntsn [In>sn T, in ~m irw-i< J)[lr.iw r' h;;/1.1,
ntsn p~r>sn T h; ~'~.!. "Let him assume his pure place which is in the sky... ; let Teti assume his pure place which is in the bow or the Bark of Re. It is indeed the crew which rows Re; it is they who will row Teti; it is indeed the crew which bears Re around the
hori-zon; it is they who will convey Teti about the hori-zon." The tension between the use of the term ir-iz
in connection with a celestial voyage in PT 407 and the term's contextually indicated sense of "tomb-maker" in more secular texts, a tension perceived by H.G. FIS('HER, "An Old Kingdom Monogram", zAs 93, 1966. p. 57 and 69, might be understandable through analogy to the strong connection in the New Kingdom betwl'l'n
L' iZ.t IJ; i}r "the gang of the tomb" and i<.1 as crew of a ship, on which see J.CERNY, ACommunity of \Vorkmen at Thebes in the Ramesside Period, Biflud 50, Cairo,
1973, p.99·100.
"~INamely, PT 461. discu"t'd pre,·.·ntly.
90Pyr 873c-874b: wn n>k 'J.wl p.t i.zn n,k ';wi qb~ i!>k hp.t r si}.t·iJrw skJ n>k il.w J~h wk bd.l ir rnp.wt>k im mr ~rZJ tm.
The phrase "seize the oar (tti /:Lp.t)" is a kind of synecdoche for travel by boat,91 with the sense of the clause thus having to do with travel to the Field of Rushes; the same image is employed in one of the other six texts of this kind. 92 The remaining five Old Kingdom texts are more explicit, speaking of crossing or being ferried (Cb) to the Field of Rushes,93 traversing (nmi) the sky to it,94 going (sm) to it,95 and reaching (P/:L) the sky at it.96
To now move directly to the Middle Kingdom mortuary literature, the theme under discussion is important not in signifying discontinuity, but the reverse: as often as it occurs in the Old Kingdom, so often does it occur in the Middle Kingdom, if not a touch more frequently, in ten texts. One of these is a Pyramid Text,97 the rest Coffin Texts, for example, CT 30:
"Go,
and row to the Field of Rushes wi thin the islands of the sky, taking the oar therein to the one who is upon his kadet-plantI"
-so will the gods say to Osiris N.98
To be sure, one could pursue in these newly attested texts a measure of discontinuity, for their ways of expressing motion to the Field of Rushes do not precisely match the several dispersed ways in which it was expressed in the Old Kingdom: besides the rowing (bni) of CT 30, there is descent (h.;i) to it,99 landing (V11.':u) at it,IOO entering ('q) it,IOI proceeding (wg.;) to it. 102 with only crossing (g.;i)103 and going (sm)104 to it being communicated from the Old Kingdom. One could go further and observe that their combination with other ideas in new texts places the
91 Wb Ill, 67, 13.
92Pyr. I 345c·I346a·c (PT 548): h_:.fm tt'l; nn " ~, /,11,It' mr 11/1.;, I.tlllw P Im m hllb.w, I!·f h/J.I im Ir S/1.Hlll.rl r /111! £0' pw 11(1) s/1.I-L'r.w "Let him board the bark like Re at the banks of the Shifting Waterway, Pepi rowing in the Bark of Radiance. taking the oar therein to the Field of the two Lower Skies, to (or: at) the front of this land of Field of Rushes."
93 Pyr. 374b (PT 268): g;.fTS/1.I·I.;r.w, "that he may er,,,, to the Field of Rushes"; Pyr 1091 (PT 505): hrIh_;·fI}..: P r
s/1.I·I;r.w "0 Herefhaf, ferry Pepi to the Field of Rushes."
94 Pyr. 749c (PT 419): llml T 1J.t IT s/1.I-LTW. "Let Teti traver>l' the sky to the Field of Rushes".
9,
Pyr 1984b (PT 670): sm.f Ir S/1.I·I.;r.W, "him going tothe Field of Rushes". To complement the array of information being presented in the body of the {,,'ay. PT 670 also contains the theme of being given the Field of Rushes, illuslr~ting the term's polysemic va-lue, or multivalence.
96Pyr. 1845a-b (PT 655), text R.O. FAULKNER, 01).ell.
(Supplement), p.19: SWI llUr) N [ml I/)d, ph·f /J.I m
blk.w llir [r} sh.I-l.:r['w1. 'The plumage of Neferkare lisl (that of) a bird, him reaching the sky as (do) divine falcons, [atl the Field of Rushes."
97 PT 268 (attested on the chamber, east wall, of S). PT 670 is arrested several times in the Middle Kingdom, but, as transmitted and preserved. the Middle Kingdom
,
188:Harold M. Hays
versions do not contain reft'rence to the Field of Ru,hl": >w ilb<'lVe, n. 7.
98CT I 94a·c (B IP. location B). IZ
I1wk r sl1.I-I;r.w r I1nw Iw.w hr(l)t It·/( 111>1 Im n I/J q;d.l·f
L·Sll nU.w rwslrN. I)n.
99CT 243 III 329c (B4C, location B): L' n(l) h;.1 r 5/11
I.;<r>.w. "Utterance of descending to the Field of Rushes"; and CT 404 V 199b (BlOC, location FR): Ir <r>11 L'lm Iw·f h.;·f r s/1.I·I.;r.w. "As for the one who knows this utterance, he desct'nds to the Field of Rushes."
100CT 279 IV 26e (Sq6C, location FR): zm.: wslrN.pn t;r 5111-i.;r.w. "Let Osiris N. join the land at the Field of Rushes." 101 CT 827 VII 27p (TIBe. location FR): r.; nU) 'q [r
slllJ-I.;r.w. "Utterance of entering linto the Field] of Rushes." For the restoration of 511.1, see the reference to
sll.!-I.:r.w at CT 827 VII 28i.
102CT 335 IV 220a-b (SqIC. location L): W;.I /)W sml 11.1 tm hI mwg.;·f r sl1l-l;r.w. "It is the road upon which my father Atum goes when proceeding to the Field of Rushes."
103 PT 268 (Pyr. 374b); and CT 791 Vll 3d (LItI. Il.lc~tion
exterior FR, in 11I1)·dl·11 I-sw.r) g"' N. r slt!.!)-I;!U' -that N. may cro" to the Field of Rushes".
pas
theme of going to the Field of Rushes within new situations, with the dispersion letting one expect at least subtle shifts of sense. But it nevertheless becomes useful to accept a measure of continuity exhibited by this theme's roughly equivalent frequency in both periods.
It becomes useful to do so once one goes on to consider how often in the Middle Kingdom the theme of passage to the sky occurs as a wider context: it occurs once lOS-once in comparison to the seven Old Kingdom texts with inundation of the Field of Rushes, in comparison to the seven with the Field of Rushes being given, and in comparison to the three with purification in it, all with the wider context of passage to the sky, and, further, in consideration of Old Kingdom concentrations of texts with passage as a theme. In the Old Kingdom, the Field of Rushes is prom inently associated with passage to the sky; in the Middle Kingdom, it is barely attested. This is a discontinuity, and a first indication of a shift in meaning through shift in context.106
One also encounters attenuation of context with the theme of purification in the Field of Rushes. In the Old Kingdom, it is attested in thirteen texts, making purification the
most prominent immediate context of the term. In the Middle Kingdom, however, it
occurs in only two texts, one of them a transmitted Pyramid Text.107 In sum, as we begin to move over to the Middle Kingdom data, one meets with continuity-about as many attesta-tions of Field of Rushes as a destination-and discontinuity, attenuaattesta-tions in the contexts of passage to the sky and purification. IOB
The two contexts just now compared, purification in and passage to the sky from the Field of Rushes, both involve themes which are attested in both periods, and their comparative frequency of occurrence suggests shifts in meaning. Another indication of shifting meaning is in the appearance in the Middle Kingdom of new contexts for the term. In the Old Kingdom, there is no case where knowledge is an immediate context, but in the Middle Kingdom knowledge occurs as an immediate context in four utterances, as within
eT
159:109I know this Field of Rushes of Re: the wall which is around it is metal,
105In PT 263 (S. location chamber. south wall).
J06A hermeneutical reconciliation of this contrast would be simple, were one to consider the cyclical solat procDs cnco<.kJ in Ih~ Pyr,lIniJ Te.'I, j,('c J.P. ALLEN, "Reading a Pyramid" in C. BERGER e/ al. (ed.), Homma-ges
a
Jean Lee/ant, BiErlHl IOu/ I, Cairo, 1994, p.24, citing W. BARTA, Die B"J,'lllllllg der PyramidenleXle fur den vers/orbenen /(onig, MAs 39. Berlin, Munich, 1981, p.136·150); then one could see the Field of Rushes as both destination and starting point, more precisely as a "ration in a circuit.107In eT 723 VI 353q (B3Bo, location L: and T2C, loca-tion BO), within a large secloca-tion adapted from PT 510 (Pyr 1128a-b, 1129b, II32a-I133b): and in PT 253 (Pyr 275a-d, at S, location chamber south wall; and T13C, exte rior L).
108Similarly. A. BAYOUMI. AUlOur du cham/J des Souche/s et du cham/J des Offrand~,. Cairo, 1940, p. 73 and Ill, noted that, in contrast to the situation in the Pyramid Texts, the Field of Rushes in the Book of the Dead is no longer a place of purification.
109Be ides CT 159, there is er /61, e.g. I1 388d (L1Li, local ion exterior FR): iw N r~ s~(/)-i.;r.w, niw. t {pw} n(i)l r' "N. knows the Field of Rushes: it is the city of Re": CT 296 V 49p (L1Li, location exterior F): iw N r~ w,;.w/ 5/';.111(1) sb,;.w n(i)w s~.r-L·r.w,"N. knows the mysterious ways and the gates of the Field of Rush..,,:" CT 397 V 114a·f (TIC, location exterior B): iw"k ir~r(i)
niw.ty iptf IIk~'.ii pw, iw"i r~.ki, sly) ty;pw niw.ry iprf 1Ik.:.ii /JW, dw';.l /JW I1n' s~.t-i,;r.w. "You know these two towns, 0 magician7 I know (them). What are these
two towns, 0 magician? They are the netherworld
and the Field of Rushes."
the height of its Lower Egyptian barley is four cubits, its ear one cubit,
its stalk three cubits; its emmer is seven cubits, its ear two cu bits,
its stalk five cubits.IIO
This is from one of the spells for knowing Bas, a set of texts which typically occur together as a transmitted unit.lll To be sure, some of the themesl12 and figures of dictionl13
of these new knowing-Bas texts are discernible already in the pyramids,II4 but these texts as well as many other Coffi n Texts exh ibit an intense Middle Kingdom concern with knowledge of arcana-knowing what a god knows,lIs knowing how to do something,II6 knowing spellsl l L
but especially with the beneficial results secured through knowledge of spells. IIB In comparison, the Pyramid Textsl19 show littl-e interest in the same, with only a few utterances
110CT 11 368c- 370d (52 P, location L): iw!'i) r(Lld silt-LTW tw n(i)t r' iw inb nt(i) 11:'5 m bi: iw q:.w nU) it-ml1's m ml1 4 iw 5ms'fm ml1 I iw m:w.t'fm ml1 3 iw bd.t's m mil 7 iw 5ms,sm ml1 2 Iw m:wt's m mll 5
III With CT 154·160 occurring in that order on, among others. B2Bo, B4Bo, BIL, and B4L, locations L, FR, F, and B respectively.
112 For example. the theme of not eating l'X,Tement. appearing in CT 160 11 373a-374b (52P. location L): w:h tp I:. tm wnm /.15 m hr(i)t-nlr, tm mwt 11 hf:w. wd: tp c; 'q pr.t m,b;.w i:bUw) n(i)w p.1. "Enduring upon earth, not eating excrement in the necropolis, not dying because of a serpent, entering from illld going out of the eastern gates of the sky". and already in PT 210 and 409, discu,,~d below.
IIIfor exnmple. the question-answer "figure of diction"
(for which term, G. GENETTE. Figures of Lilerary
Dhcul0le, New York, 1982, p. 55). appearing in CT 160 11 383a-e (S2P, location L): Ink wr-(lk:.w, iw dU.n'i r'k; LIst pw :h pw;
sm
In h.t'f pluyk(y) n dW'k. "I a m Great of Magic; I have striven against you (lit. put to you). What is it, this Akh'power7 0 one who goesupon his belly, let your strength be to your mountain." and already in PT ferryman texts, e.g. PT 505 (Pyr
109 I -lll9 3).
114CT 159 might alrcady lw ;\lle,ted in the Old Kinl-:dllm, though outside the pyramids, on Ba IX;see above. n. 4. II \ For example. CT 154 II 266b (S3P): rh rh.l.n dhwti m sd:.w. "Knowing what Thoth knows of protective utterance,' (or "urteraJl<'o of kc('pillj: ,afe"; on sd;.w < swd:, see K. 5ETHE, Die S/lrucl1e fur das Kennen der Seelen der l1eillg"1! Olte'. Sonderdruck ilU, ZAS 57-59,
190;Harold M. Hays
Leipzig, 1(j25, 1'.11); fur funlln cX<llIlplc,. 'l'e CT 443 V 306c·d; CT827 VII 28d; and CT 1017 VII 2360. lib For example, CT 573 VI 1')2h· iqr Iril hsq dsf "The
one who knows how to chop up caught fish is skilful"; see also CT 752 VI 381 f; CT 1054 VII 30t,\,; CT 1089 VlI 370b, CT 1113 VlI 444b, CT /116 VII 447b; and CT 1117 VII 450b.
117 For example, CT 238 III 316g (T2L): ink ril r;'f"I am one who knows his utterance"; see also CT 281 IV
30g; CT 535 VI 1321; CT 828 VII 29g; CT 1062 VII
320c; CT 1081 VU 354b; and CT 1087 Vll 366d. 118 For eXample, CT 8311 47b (BIC): ir zi nb ril r: /m n
mWl.n'f mwt whm, n silm_n ilft(i)w'f im'f, II ~:n sw Ilk;.w tp c d.t, pr.t pw In ~I r mrr'fm hr(ilt-np "As for any man who knows this utterance, he does not really die again, his enemies do not have control over him, and magic never r(',train, him upon earth: it is a going forth by a m<ln <!c(l'rding as he desires in the necropolis"; see alSll CT 228 III 267d; CT 297 IV 501; CT 339 IV 3381. CT 404 V 199b; CT 576 VI /911;
er
651 VI 273d; CT 712 VI 343d; CT 760 VI 390m; CT
1035 VII 282d; CT 1035 VII 283b; CT 1087 VII 364a; CT 1113 VII 44 5c; and CT I 130 VII 471 c. Statements of this format are called the "knowledge formula" (Wi"enformel) by H. BUCHBERGER, Transformatinn und Tralbjormat Sargtex(studien J, AgAbl1 52, Wiesbaden,
199 3. p. I 5 I ·1 52
IIGHowever, outside of the Pyramid Texts, numerouS Old Kingdom monuments bear statements laying claim to efficaCious knowledge, e.g. L. HAIlACHI, Tile Obelisks of
fgv/,(: Sk~'.'n,,/',·)~of tile Past, New York, 1977, p. 40 fig. 16. l. 3 = L. HAIlACHI, Sixteen Studies 011 Lower \Jubia,
CASAE 23, Cairo, /981, p.21 fig. 5: ink :h Iq!t}r rh r,;'f, Iw(·1) ril.k(l) r,; n(1) /' n n!r 'J' nb /).t "l a m an
making reference to knowledge of spells, 120 names of gods, 121 and gods. I22 In the case of the theme of knowing the Field of Rushes, it is, on the one hand, a matter of combining two things which perhaps had not been joined in writing before, with the result that an idea is newly manifest, and, on the other, a matter of the elevation to new prominence of a basic notion, knowledge itself. With knowledge of the Field of Rushes, one encounters another indication of change in context, another indication of shifting meaning.
Knowledge represents the introduction of a new context in the Middle Kingdom; pas-sage to the sky and purification represent attenuations of old contexts. A final aspect of indications of change is in the amplification of a previously infrequently encountered context. As an introduction to it, the theme of the booth of the beneficiary being in the Field of Rushes occurs in just one text in the Old Kingdom, PT 210:
What Neferkare detests is excrement, with him refusing urine.
What Neferkare detests, what he detests-what Neferkare detests is excrement.
He does not eat what Neferkare detests nor this, just as Seth refuses the *poison. 123
o
Two Companions of his who cross the sky-Re and
Thoth-take Pepi out with you,
that Neferkare may eat of what you eat, that Neferkare may drink of what you drink, that Neferkare may live by that by which you live, that Neferkare may si t where you sit,
that Neferkare may be strong by that by which you are strong, that Neferkare may sail by that by which you sail.
The booth of Neferkare is woven in the Fie Id of Rushes,124
knowledge of arcana. Wc' E. EDEL."Untersuchungen zur Phr~.cologie der agyptischen Inschriften des Alten Reiches", IIWA/K 13, 1944, p. 22-26 (§ 22).
110 Pyr 856a-d (PT 456) ir~ sw N r; pn nU) r', hit N hk;.w ipn n(i)w !H ;/1.';, wnn N. m 11]../ nU) I', wnn N
m .lmlnU) hI.:1;.1(1), "1"derkare knows it, this utterance of Re, with Neferkare performing thesl' magics of Harakhti' Neferkare is one known of Re, and Neferkare is a friend of Harakhti." As noted by H. BUCHBERGER, op.cil, p. 152, this pa" .. ge shows that the "knowledge formula" (see above n. 118) was, form-critically, not an
innovation of coffin decoration in the Middle
Kingdom. Note that this colophon, like those of n. 118. constitutes a parall'xtual element (on which term. see nn, 20 and Ill).
121 PYI 449a (PT JOI) /w W
*
sw rl]. rn<f, "for Wenis knows him (se. Atum); he knows his name".122PT 262 pas>im, e.g. Pyr J2ia' m I].m T n!r sk sw i.r~
lW. "Do not forget Teti. 0 god, for he knows you"
11)50 R.O, FAULKNER. oJ). ciL. p. J9.
124 W., T., and M. give z~ n(i) N S~I m L'r.w or Z~ N. S~I m /;r.w. QIQand 5 also have zh nU) N. stH m /;r.w and zl; N. sl].l m /;r.w respectively; SRX has ZI.1 n(i) N. m sl]..t-/;uv. For Q IQ,Sc" E, CI-IASSINAT et at .. Fouilles de Qaflah, M/FAO 14, Cairo. 1906, p, 63, 11. 66-67. For 5, see W. C. HAYES, The Texts in the Maslabeh of Se'n-wosrel-'Ankh at Lisht, PMMA 12, New York, 1937, pI. V.
I. 307 For S8X. see G. LAPP, "Der 5~rg des Jmnj", SAK 13, 1986, Faltafel, I. 137.
